Farquhar students might be relocated to Tilden Middle School while Farquhar is being renovated. However, parents are not happy about the long drive to Tilden. Photo by Paul Szewczyk ‘12

by Katie Nolan ‘12

A fair portion of Sherwood’s student body spent their middle school years in the halls of Farquhar Middle School, which along with Rosa Parks Middle School feeds into Sherwood each year. Beginning in 2013, MCPS plans to relocate Farquhar students while it undergoes construction. 

In response to the planned relocation, Farquhar’s PTA has held numerous meetings at which parents have loudly voiced their complaints. When word of the relocation plans reached the parents, many of them were outraged and supplied MCPS with alternate plans. “We have provided the parents with a forum to raise their concerns.  In addition to the scheduled FAQ meetings, there have been two additional community meetings scheduled where parents presented and shared their concerns,” said Farquhar Principal Diane Morris.

MCPS’s plan is to relocate students to Tilden Middle School during the modernization project of Farquhar, which will take two years. After opposition from the parents, other alternatives have been proposed by them that include simultaneously feeding students to Rosa Parks, Sherwood Elementary and Paint Branch. Purchasing adjacent land near Farquhar and building a temporary space for students has also been discussed as an alternate plan to MCPS’s relocation plan. 

Parents of current students as well as students who are scheduled to attend Farquhar during the relocation have come to together to voice their oppositions. After informing MCPS that they desired an alternate plan during modernization, 2,000 citizens signed a petition.

For many parents, like Angela Edwards, building a separate building on-site is ideal. “I do not support relocation to the Tilden Holding Center and want MCPS to arrange for the land swap or build on the back of the current Farquhar site or if the kids have to go off-site to a holding center, a closer one,” said Edwards. 

The parents have raised the most concern regarding the travel time involved in relocation. Particularly when relocating students to Tilden was discussed, parents were outraged at the travel time, which would be a two hour round trip during rush hour times. “If a child has to be bused to Tilden for two years, the extra time on a bus [over what their normal ride would be] is the same amount of time it would take to drive to San Francisco and back  five times,” noted parent Troy Kimmel.

As a result of the long commute, parents are worried that other aspects of their children’s lives will be negatively affected as a result. “There are many health concerns as well—lack of exercise and prolonged sitting idle.  We are worried about reduced sleeping time which is crucial during these developmental years,” said parent Felicia Kimmel. Kimmel explained that students feel the same, as they will have less time to participate in activities they are interested in. “They are not happy that they will have minimal time to do anything much past homework once they get home since most of the free time they might have had will be spent on a bus.”

As the controversy continues, the Farquhar administration is beginning preparation. For example, when considering relocation, “We are considering the logistics  of packing up the school, identifying bus routes, supervision, setting up the holding school,” said Morris.

“The parents have done a tremendous job advocating for their desire to build the school on site,” Morris added. “They provided MCPS with a number of alternative options, one which included looking at the adjacent land which may allow for a land swap.”

The parents admit that modernization is necessary, as Farquhar is an old building; however, they find it completely unnecessary for their children to waste so much valuable time traveling to Tilden. MCPS plans to reach a final decision in mid-summer.